For nearly thirty years, District of Columbia law has embraced the ideal that all residents should have a warm and safe place to sleep when the temperature is freezing. For those who are homeless, that ideal is expressed in the legal right to emergency shelter. However, the D.C. government’s current practices do not comport with the law. The shelter system’s front door has been blocked by unlawful procedures that have created almost insurmountable obstacles for far too many families trying to access emergency shelter this winter.

Families like that of Ms. G*, a pregnant mother with two young sons (ages 5 and 2) who were forced to sleep in their car on a freezing weekend in December after a week of seeking assistance from the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center (FRC), the centralized shelter intake site for families. Each day that week, Ms. G sat in the waiting room of the intake center from opening until closing. She repeatedly told intake staff that her family had no safe place to go, but her appeals fell on deaf ears. Desperate for a warm place to stay in freezing weather, Ms. G. and her kids tried to sleep at a train station. There, they met a woman who took pity on them and invited them to sleep in her home for one night. Ms.G risked her family’s safety by sleeping at a stranger’s home, about whom she knew nothing, because she had no other choice. Luckily, the stranger was kind and no harm came to the family that night. But they continued to be denied shelter by FRC staff until another parent seeking services at the shelter intake site shared the Legal Clinic’s contact information with Ms. G. The family was finally placed in shelter, but only with the assistance of a lawyer.

It should not take the intervention of a lawyer to assure that:

hypothermia alerts are called accurately and in a timely manner;

the District government acts consistently with its stated policy of sheltering D.C. families with no safe place to go whether or not an alert has been called;

eligible families are admitted to shelter in accordance with the law;

parents don’t lose jobs and children don’t miss school because of threats of wrongful termination or unreasonable demands by shelter intake staff; and

families that are placed in shelter have access to heat and hot water, pest-free living spaces and cribs for their babies.

Too many vulnerable families have already been turned out into the cold. It is our sincere hope that D.C. takes swift action to prevent further violations before a tragedy occurs on its watch.

* Name changed in order to protect the privacy of the client

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About Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless envisions a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia, where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources they need to thrive.
Our mission is to use the law to make justice a reality for our neighbors who struggle with homelessness and poverty. Combining community lawyering and advocacy to achieve our clients’ goals, our expert staff and network of volunteer attorneys provide low barrier, comprehensive legal services at intake sites throughout the District of Columbia, helping our clients to access housing, shelter, and life-saving services. Rooted in the experiences of this client work, we effectively blend system reform efforts, policy advocacy, community education and client engagement to advocate for long term improvements in local and federal programs that serve the low- and no-income community.

I agree with Ms. G, because a young lady told me she called Virginia Williams for shelter when the temperature was below 31 degrees and the intake person told her to tried to find someone to stay with that night because they did not have no one to pick her and her 3 children up. She told the lady that she had a car and the intake worker told her blow her horn to make sure she was in a car. This was truly unnecessary, Also, whoever, this lady is that work the night shift as a intake worker need some training in her job.

The Legal Clinic envisions a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia, where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources they need to thrive.